Getting Better
by RussianWolf7
Summary: Well, let's see. A what-if fic about what if Dally didn't die when he got shot. Two-Bit's younger sister, Jessie, helps him get better again, in more way than one. With a little, or a lot, of help from the gang, Jessie and Dally might end up going togethe
1. Waking Up

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my character. Everything else is S. E. Hinton's.  
  
A/N: *cries* I just finished The Outsiders and am now very upset because Dally died. I therefore decided to do a what-if fic. Here it is. Set a couple of days after Dally gets shot.  
  
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"Is he going to die?"  
  
"No, I don't think so."  
  
"He got shot in the chest five times. How could he not?"  
  
"Could you stop yelling? He needs his rest!"  
  
Jessica Matthews gently pressed the wet cloth to Dallas Winston's forehead, ignoring everybody's yells. Dally had been shot three days ago, but they couldn't take him to the hospital. Instead, they had brought him to her older brother's, Two-Bit's, house. A close friend who wouldn't tell where Dally was had come over and taken the bullets out. He had given them specific instructions, but had said that Dally would most likely die. His condition since he was shot has remained the same; he'd been unconscious the entire time.  
  
Jessie sighed and put the cloth aside. Every three hours they were supposed to check Dally's wounds to see if they were getting either better or worse. How Jessie had managed to get stuck with the task almost every time, she didn't know. There were really only two things that bothered her about it. Two and a half, really. She just chose to ignore part of it. First off, she hated the sight of blood. Jessie was a greaser, and a hard one at that, but she always got queasy looking at blood. Luckily, he had stopped bleeding ages ago, and they had washed off the blood, but it felt like blood. For another, Dally was a boy. She was a girl. Having to examine his chest felt like an intrusion of his privacy.  
  
Jessie lifted his shirt up gently and looked and unwound the white gauze bandages that the doctor had wrapped around the wounds. She looked at the holes in her older brother's friend's chest and decided that they hadn't changed since the last time she had looked. She took out some more gauze and wrapped it around his chest and pulled his shirt down again. She took the cold compress and wet it again and went back to her seat. She put it back on Dally's forehead and waited for someone else to come and take care of him.  
  
What bothered her most about this whole situation was that it didn't need to happen. Johnny did die, yes, but Dally didn't need to go get himself shot. If he would just look around, he would realize that the entire gang cared about him, not just Johnny. Jessie thought that if Dally would stop looking for people hating him instead of caring, he might find someone who did care. And maybe if he cared about anyone aside from himself, Jessie thought angrily. She knew that if Dally survived this, she wouldn't be thanked by him. Probably by the rest of the gang, but would Dally ever get rid of enough pride to apologize to Jessie? Not a chance.  
  
Sighing, Jessie looked back at Dally as opposed to staring out the window. He looked so different unconscious that when he was awake. He looked like someone with feelings. Since he was shot, Jessie had been watching his face while he slept. She thought that he was dreaming because his range of expressions was far larger than when he was awake. Jessie reached out and gently moved the clod compress from his forehead and trailed her fingers along it. Dally's eyes snapped open.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked in his typical bossy way.  
  
Jessie stared at him. After all he had been through, he still managed to be as sassy as every. Jessie called to the other boys that Dally was awake. They came running and Jessie was instantly pushed off to the side. She sighed; she never would get that thank you she wanted.  
  
Going out of Dally's room, she walked into her own room, a place she hadn't been since Dally was shot. Practically everyone in the gang wanted to be near him until he got better, but nobody wanted to take care of him. Jessie had landed the job of caring for him and Two-Bit had volunteered Jessie's room to whoever needed it, so Jessie had been sleeping either on the couch, on the chair next to Dally's bed after having dropped off after caring for him or not at all. Now, however, everybody was with Dally and so she went into her room and locked the door behind her.  
  
Thankfully, Two-Bit had enough sense to give her room to Darry, who was the neatest and most polite, so it wasn't a complete and total mess. Darry's bag was in the corner and that was about it. Taking out one of her favourite books, The Fellowship of the Ring, she went over to her bed and collapsed on it and started reading.  
  
About five minutes later, she heard the handle on her door rattling and then someone banging on the door.  
  
"Who is it?" Jessie yelled from her bed.  
  
"Two-Bit! Dally wants to see ya!" her older brother yelled.  
  
Jessie was surprised, to say the least. "Why?"  
  
"I dunno. GO talk to him!" Two-Bit yelled. "Maybe he likes ya!"  
  
Jessie groaned. Having Two-Bit as a brother wasn't an easy task. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she grumbled and got out of bed. She unlocked her door and went to the extra room where Dally was. The door was closed, so she knocked softly.  
  
"Come in," Dally said. Jessie opened the door and walked in. Dally was still lying in bed and even though he was awake, he looked much more vulnerable than ever before.  
  
"What is it?" Jessie asked, pulling the chair that she had been sitting on back over to Dally's bed.  
  
"Why'd ya take care of me?" Dally asked softly.  
  
Jessie honestly didn't know how to answer. The truth, because nobody else wanted to, would only make him want to do something like this again. However, she didn't want to lie either. Choosing a half truth, she said, "Everybody else was busy. Darry, Steve and Soda were working, Pony's still recovering and Two-Bit was helping. I just happened to be here when you woke up."  
  
"Oh," Dally replied awkwardly.  
  
"Is there anything else? I haven't had anything to eat in a while . . ." Jessie said. It was another half truth. She hadn't eaten in a while, but she wasn't hungry. She just wanted to get back to her room and lock it before Darry was in there again.  
  
Dally squirmed slightly. "Yeah . . ."  
  
"What?" Jessie asked, imagining that Darry was already in her room.  
  
Dally mumbled something.  
  
"What?" Jessie repeated.  
  
"Thanks," he said quietly.  
  
Jessie stared at him. This was the last thing she had expected. She hadn't been expecting a thank you, but it was greatly appreciated. "It's nothing," Jessie said and went back to her room. Thankfully, Darry wasn't their yet so she sat down and started reading again.  
  
A few minutes later, Two-Bit walked in. Jessie groaned and prepared herself for a bunch of smart comments.  
  
"What did he want?" Two-Bit asked, sitting down on Jessie's bed.  
  
"Nothing," Jessie replied and turned around.  
  
Two-Bit poked her in the back. "C'mon, Jess. Tell me."  
  
"Don't call me Jess!" she yelled. The last person to call her Jess was her ex-boyfriend and, even though he had broken up with her over a year ago, she still didn't like anyone to call her by that nickname.  
  
"Touchy," Two-Bit muttered. "So, what did he say?"  
  
"He thanked me, if you must know!" Jessie yelled.  
  
Two-Bit didn't say anything so Jessie turned around and saw that her older brother was staring at her.  
  
"What?" Jessie spat.  
  
"He didn't say anything like that to me," Two-Bit said. "And I told him that I helped as much as you did. Did you say that too?"  
  
"Yeah. What did he say to you" Jessie wondered.  
  
"He was all angry at me for, y'know, making a big fuss out of him. He said that it wasn't a big deal," Two-Bit replied, still in a sate of shock.  
  
"Oh," Jessie replied uncomfortably.  
  
"I told ya he liked ya," Two-Bit said and walked out.  
  
"No he doesn't!" Jessie yelled down the hall and slammed her bedroom door behind her and locked it. She went back to her bed and sat down heavily on it. What Two-Bit had said really got to her. She didn't believe that Dally had a crush on her; it would just be too weird. Sighing, she picked up her book and started to read.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Six hours later at seven thirty, Two-Bit came in and said that they were going to have dinner in Dally's room to celebrate his being awake. The Curtis's had brought chocolate cake Two-Bit himself had made a bunch of spaghetti.  
  
"I hafta come, don't I?" Jessie groaned. Whenever she had dinner with the entire gang, she ended up feeling left out and unwanted since the boys couldn't talk about things they always did, like girls and stuff.  
  
Two-Bit grinned hugely. "Ya sure do! C'mon," he said happily and took Jessie by the arm, dragging her into Dally's room.  
  
Jessie laughed and pulled her arm free. Two-Bit had a bad habit of dragging people places that they didn't want to go, but Jessie had learned to take it as a complement. If Two-Bit didn't care if she went, he wouldn't bother to drag her.  
  
"Close yer eyes," Two-Bit said and went around behind her and out his hands over her eyes.  
  
"Two-Bit!" Jessie squealed. "What're you doing?"  
  
"It's a surprise," he answered and led her into Dally's room. He sat her down on a chair and walked away.  
  
"SURPRISE!" the gang yelled. Jessie opened her eyes and looked around in shock. She was sitting next to Dally on a chair next to his bed and the gang was around them, smiling hugely.  
  
"What?" Jessie said.  
  
"A toast!" Soda yelled, passing around glasses with water in them.  
  
"To what?" Jessie asked.  
  
"To the good health of Dally and the kind person who got him there!" Two- Bit said and raised his glass. Everybody followed suit and then took a sip. Jessie turned to Dally.  
  
"Didya know about this?" she asked.  
  
"Kind of," he said. "When they told me to close my eyes I got suspicious."  
  
"Oh," Jessie said and happily took the plate of chocolate cake that Ponyboy was passing around.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
At eight fifteen, Two-Bit glanced at Soda who looked at Pony who looked at Darry. They all left.  
  
"What's going on now?" Jessie asked Dally.  
  
"I dunno," Dally replied. Jessie glanced over at him and saw that he was fidgeting.  
  
"Dally, tell me," Jessie demanded.  
  
"I said I didn't know," Dally replied.  
  
Jessie sighed. "Fine. I'll be right back," she said and walked out in search of Two-Bit. She found him, and the other boys, in Two-Bit's room, which is the room next to Dally's, one ear pressed against the wall and the other boys around him. "Keith Matthews, are you trying to set me up with Dally?" Jessie demanded from behind him.  
  
All the boys jumped and turned around. "No, of course not," Two-Bit said nervously. Nobody called him by his real name.  
  
"Two-Bit . . ." Jessie said. "Tell me."  
  
"Well, ya hardly need it," he blurted without meaning to.  
  
"What are ya talking about?" Jessie half yelled.  
  
"What do you mean, what am I talking about? You're, like, always with him! Shoot, Jessie, anyone of us would've been glad to take care of him. He's part of the gang. We take care of each other. Ya aren't even in it, and you were by his side practically the entire time," Two-Bit replied.  
  
Jessie just stared at him. "Y'all never even offered! Lemme guess; y'all were trying to get us to spend some time 'together,' right? Even if he was unconscious? Why do ya want us together?"  
  
Nobody said anything, but there was much nudging and smirking among the boys.  
  
"Well?" Jessie demanded.  
  
"Go talk to him," Two-Bit eventually said and pushed Jessie out the door and into Dally's room.  
  
Jessie glared at him, but let herself be pushed. Soon enough, she was sitting next to Dally again.  
  
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So, do ya like it? Please oh please review!!! 


	2. Breaking Hearts

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is Jessie and the plot as much as someone can own a plot.  
  
A/N: Hey y'all. Not much to say. If anyone knows where I can find pictures from the movie of The Outsiders, let me know.  
  
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"What were you doing?" Dally asked.  
  
Jessie glared, not at him, just at life in general. Mainly Two-Bit. "Nothing," she grumbled.  
  
"Jessie?" Dally said.  
  
Jessie glanced at him. She could've sworn that she heard concern in his voice, but that couldn't be true. He didn't care about anyone except for himself. "Why'd ya do it?" she asked softly.  
  
Dally sighed. "After Johnny died, it was just too much. Nobody cared about me except for him, and he's gone."  
  
"Dally, maybe if ya stopped looking for hate and started looking for caring, ya might find some," Jessie said, voicing what she was thinking about earlier.  
  
Dally snorted. "No one gives a damn about me. I realized that ages ago. No point in tryin' to talk be out of it."  
  
"If ya let people care about ya, they might. Besides, why'd ya think that me and Two-Bit took care of ya if we didn't care about ya?" Jessie asked.  
  
"You care about me?" Dally asked sharply and sat up.  
  
Jessie shrugged. "Yer my older brother's best friend. I can't hate ya."  
  
"Oh," Dally said, sitting down again. "Hey, did Sylvia come by?"  
  
"Who?" Jessie asked.  
  
"My ex," Dally explained.  
  
"Oh. No," Jessie replied.  
  
Dally smiled triumphantly. "Good."  
  
"Do ya still like her?" Jessie asked, not sure why she was asking.  
  
"Naw. I hate her," Dally said. "Two-timin'-" he went on to call Sylvia a bunch of various untypable names.  
  
Jessie stared. "Impressive."  
  
Dally smirked. "Thanks. Anyways, what were ya yellin' at Two-bit for when ya left?"  
  
Jessie turned away because she was blushing slightly. "If ya wanna know, ask him yerself."  
  
"That bad?" Dally cocked and eyebrow. "OY! TWO-BIT! GET IN HERE!" Dally bellowed.  
  
Jessie cringed. She tried to think of an excuse to get out of the room, but couldn't come up with a good one.  
  
"Yeah?" Two-Bit said, walking into the room.  
  
"Why was Jessie yellin' at ya?" Dally asked.  
  
Two-Bit grinned. "Oh, no reason."  
  
Dally narrowed his eyes. "Tell me."  
  
"Jessie likes ya," Two-Bit stated.  
  
"WHAT?!?!" Jessie and Dally yelled at the same time.  
  
Two-Bit smirked and walked out.  
  
Jessie glared after her brother. "I can't believe he said that," she muttered.  
  
"Is it true?" Dally asked softly.  
  
Jessie glanced at him, trying to read is eyes which is, of course, impossible. "Why?"  
  
"I have a right to know," Dally replied.  
  
Jessie sighed and put her head in her hands. If he had asked about five minutes ago, she would've known the answer immediately; of course not. But the more she talked to him, the more she wasn't sure. "No," she replied. As soon as she said it, she knew it was a lie. However, Jessie wasn't going to change her answer until she knew if Dally liked her back. "Earlier Two-Bit said that ya like me," Jessie said and glanced over at Dally again.  
  
Dally stared. "What is wrong with him?"  
  
"I dunno," Jessie sighed. "He's trying to set us up, but he's convinced that we don't need any help."  
  
"What?" Dally yelled.  
  
"That's why I was yelling at him earlier," Jessie replied. She turned away again, not wanting Dally to see her flaming cheeks.  
  
"I'm going to kill him," Dally said and started to get up.  
  
"Dally, ya need to stay in bed," Jessie said. When she saw that Dally was going to ignore her, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down. "Ya got shot five times in the chest; ya hafta rest."  
  
"Jessie, I don't rest," he mumbled, but lay down again.  
  
"If ya wanna get better, yer gonna hafta take it easy," Jessie said softly.  
  
"What if I don't want to get better? Jess, I wanted to die." He stopped when he saw the look on her face. "What?"  
  
"Why'd ya call me Jess?" she asked.  
  
"I dunno. It's easier than Jessie," Dally said. "Why?"  
  
"Only my boyfriends call me Jess," Jessie replied quietly.  
  
"Oh," Dally replied.  
  
There was a moment or two of silence until Jessie asked, "Do ya still wanna die?"  
  
Dally sighed. "I dunno. What I want is someone who doesn't hate me, and not juts because I'm in a gang or because they don't want me to clobber them." Dally glanced at Jessie. "Or because I'm their older brother's best friend."  
  
"Do ya want me to like ya?" Jessie asked softly.  
  
Dally snorted. "How?"  
  
Jessie turned away. "I dunno." Lie. Big lie. And she suspected that Dally knew that.  
  
"Jessie?" he asked softly.  
  
Jessie looked at him; she couldn't help it. It was the first time she had heard him saying anything in a reasonable tone of voice, aside from when he thanked her earlier.  
  
"Do ya like me?" Dally asked quietly.  
  
"I-" she started, but stopped when Two-Bit burst into the room.  
  
"Are y'all goin' out yet?" Two-Bit asked.  
  
"OH MY GOD!!! TWO-BIT!!!" Jessie yelled and shoved him out of the room.  
  
"Answer me!" he said and pushed past Jessie back into the room.  
  
"NO!!!" Jessie yelled.  
  
Two-Bit smiled. "Didn't I tell ya that he likes ya? And ya like him. Just say it."  
  
"I don't like him!" Jessie screamed.  
  
"And I don't like her!" Dally shouted.  
  
Two-Bit sighed. "Dally, will ya go out with Jessie?"  
  
Jessie looked at Dally who had a slight blush, and for him, who never blushed, that was saying something. "Will ya?" she asked quietly.  
  
Two-Bit grinned and left, having done his part.  
  
"I, uh, well," Dally stuttered.  
  
"Dally?" Jessie asked softly.  
  
"No," he said after a couple of minutes.  
  
"Oh," Jessie replied and turned around. She didn't know what she was thinking, that maybe Dally liked her. She didn't even know what she was thinking, that she liked Dally in the first place. Regardless, she felt tears prickle in the corners of her eyes. "I have to go," she said and walked out of Dally's room and to her own which was mercifully empty.  
  
Jessie locked the door behind her and went over to her bed and picked up her book and started reading again.  
  
"Jessie?" Two-Bit asked from outside her door quietly a couple of minutes later.  
  
Jessie got up and unlocked the door and went back to her bed. "What do ya want?"  
  
"I just wanted to apologize. I swear I thought Dally liked ya," Two-Bit said, coming, closing the door behind him and going over to Jessie.  
  
"I don't like him," Jessie lied.  
  
"Jessie, yer cryin'," Two-Bit said gently.  
  
Jessie turned away and wiped away her tears. She hadn't even realized it. "If ya tell anyone, I'm gonna pound ya into a pulp."  
  
"I know," Two-Bit replied gently and put an arm around his sister.  
  
Jessie refused to turn around. "Could ya leave me alone?"  
  
Two-Bit smiled sadly. "Sure," he said and left, closing the door gently behind him. Jessie went over to the door and locked it. She went back over to her bed and wondered what the hell she was thinking.  
  
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I'm not going to be near a computer for all of this weekend, so I won't be able to update at all, so enjoy! And review so when I come back, I'll have lots. ^^ 


	3. I Don't Wanna Die Anymore

Disclaimer: I own neither the song nor the characters except for Jessie. S. E. Hinton owns the characters and New Radicals owns the lyrics.  
  
A/N: Hey y'all. Just saw The Outsiders the movie so I'm really depressed because I saw Dally die. So, I put on one of my favourite albums, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too by New Radicals and this song hit me as being perfect. So, here it is.  
  
_too/i_dont_wanna_die_anymore/  
  
And that's where I got the lyrics from so y'all can't sue me.  
  
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Dally was lying in bed thinking about Jessie. He didn't want to like her, not at all. He had never been too keen on liking girls, but especially after Sylvia was two-timing him . . .  
  
//Two months of fun//  
  
//Two years of pain//  
  
//Add it up//  
  
//And get a life of rain//  
  
What Dally needed was someone to talk to. No one in the gang would understand; they'd think he was going soft, which Dally didn't believe. He didn't want to go soft. If ya were hard, ya didn't get hurt. That's what he had thought, until Johnny died. Now he could feel himself crumbling apart. If he was gonna make it through this, he needed someone to talk to. Of course, there was the question of whether he wanted to make it through or not.  
  
//Need to scream//  
  
//But too ashamed//  
  
Dally turned away from the chair where Jessie had been sitting and looked out the window. He could see storm clouds gathering and smirked. 'Typical,' he thought. 'A storm to match my mood.'  
  
//It's gonna rain it's gonna rain//  
  
Dally's thoughts turned back to Jessie. He knew that he wanted to go out with her, that wasn't the question. To some extent, the question wasn't whether she liked him or not either. He was pretty sure that she did. To tell the truth, he didn't really know what the question was. Except he did.  
  
He didn't want to get hurt again.  
  
Dally also was almost positive that he liked her. The thing was, Johnny just died, so he might just be looking for someone to hold onto. Johnny was the only thing that had kept him going, and he was gone now. For all he knew, his subconscious was trying to find someone to keep him alive. A primal instinct of some sort.  
  
//You wanna go you wanna stay you wanna//  
  
Dally sighed. Having nothing better to do because he was banished to his bed, he drifted off to sleep, still thinking about Jessie.  
  
//You really blew my world//  
  
About an hour later, Dally woke up. Immediately he knew something was different. Looking around, he didn't see anything.  
  
"Two-Bit!" Dally hollered.  
  
"Yeah?" Two-Bit replied, coming into the room.  
  
"Is anything wrong?" Dally asked.  
  
Two-Bit stared. "You actually care if something's wrong or not?"  
  
Dally glared. "Yer big mouth's gonna get ya into trouble soon. Is anything wrong?"  
  
"No, it's fine," Two-Bit replied.  
  
Dally settled against his pillows again. "Are ya sure?"  
  
"Well, Jessie's kinda upset, but other than that, yeah," Two-Bit said.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Dally asked.  
  
Two-Bit rolled his eyes. "I ain't gonna tell ya."  
  
Dally snorted. "That's a first."  
  
"Aww, shut up. Ya need to figure it out for yerself," Two-Bit said and walked out.  
  
Dally glared after him. How could he figure it out when he couldn't get out of bed? Then it occurred to him. Why Jessie was upset, what was different. Dally smiled to himself. When Jessie could out, she wouldn't be upset anymore.  
  
//I wanna live and there's only one way//  
  
//I don't wanna die anymore//  
  
//I want to live it up//  
  
//I don't want this high anymore//  
  
Dally's heart suddenly dropped. He couldn't just stop being himself, and that's what he was asking. If he really wanted to pull himself together, he'd have to completely rebuild himself. Everything, from his mouth to his actions to the heater he kept in his pocket. Everything.  
  
//But I can't give it up//  
  
He stopped. All his hardness was to block everything out. Before his life had needed to be blocked out, he wasn't like this. Sure he was a Greaser, but not a Hood. More like Darry. Not exactly like him, of course. He still had a streak of mischief and rule breaking, but he wasn't hard the way he was now. He wasn't closed off to the world.  
  
//I won't live a lie anymore//  
  
Thinking about who made him this way, aside from himself, he could only come up with his dad. He had stayed with Dally even after he died. What he had done to him didn't leave easily, especially since he and his dad had been close. Then there was that one night, and since then he hadn't left Dally.  
  
//I need to give you up//  
  
Maybe that's why Dally needed to have someone close to him, someone who cared about him as well. He needed to be proven that note everyone was like his dad. But so far that wasn't working. The only people he had ever been close to had left him in one way or another. Sylvia had cheated on him and Johnny had died.  
  
Jessie had cared. Jessie was the exception.  
  
//Won't you save me//  
  
When it came down to it, even though he didn't like it, Dally needed Jessie as much as he wanted her. He would never tell her; it would only make her go farther away than she already was. Nobody wanted a boyfriend who was needy and annoying. Dally didn't need anyone.  
  
But then he remembered what it felt like when he woke up to Jessie's cool fingers resting on his forehead. Even that little thing had helped him. Everything about her helped him. He did need her, no denying it. But maybe he wouldn't always.  
  
//Two months of sun//  
  
//A life of rain//  
  
//Add it up//  
  
//I'm on my own again//  
  
Dally suddenly realized what he was thinking. He did NOT need Jessie. He never would. He would never need anyone. Helping people didn't get you anywhere and neither did depending. All depending did was give you heart break. All Dally needed right now was a cigarette and a place to scream.  
  
//Need to scream//  
  
//I'm so filled with rage//  
  
Doing exactly what he was told not to, Dally got out of bed and went to the window. His chest ached, but he ignored it. Dally opened the window and did scream. He did need to do that. And, strangely enough, he felt better. Dally felt something hit his head and he looked up. It was raining.  
  
//It's gonna rain it's gonna rain//  
  
Dally pulled his head back inside the room and closed the window. He went over to the bed and sat down again. His chest was on fire and he bent over double with pain. Not wanting to scream again, he grit his teeth against the pain. Eventually it went down enough for him to be able to sit up again and he did so.  
  
"Are you ok?" a concerned voice asked from outside.  
  
Dally sighed knowing who it was and not wanting to deal with Jessie yet. "I'm fine!" he yelled through the door. Yelling, however, causing his chest to hurt more and he let loose a long chain of swears.  
  
Jessie opened the door. "You don't sound like it."  
  
"I'm fine. Go away," dally whispered that being all he could manage.  
  
"Not until I'm sure you're ok."  
  
//You wanna go you wanna stay you wanna//  
  
"Jessie, God. Yer only making it worse," Dally grumbled.  
  
"What're ya talking about?! If it weren't for me, you'd be dead!" Jessie yelled.  
  
//You really screwed my world//  
  
"I wanna be dead! Get that through yer head!" Dally yelled. It was a lie, but Jessie didn't need to know that. Not yet at any rate.  
  
//I gotta live but you stand in the way//  
  
"No you don't!" Jessie screamed back.  
  
Dally turned away and didn't say anything. If he did, he might say the truth and that couldn't happen.  
  
//I'm pulling out now "uhh"//  
  
Jessie sighed. "Dally, ya don't wanna die. Not yet. Just because Johnny died doesn't mean that you need to."  
  
Dally still didn't say anything, refusing to admit out loud that she was right.  
  
//I don't wanna die anymore//  
  
//I want to live it up//  
  
//I don't want this high anymore//  
  
"Dally . . ." Jessie trailed off. She sighed. "You know I'm right."  
  
"Well what if I don't want to give it up?" dally snapped, turning around to face Jessie.  
  
//But I can't give it up//  
  
Jessie stared at him and then smiled. "You want to. Dally, yer strong. You can do it. You can do anything ya set yer mind ta."  
  
Dally snorted. "I can't bring Johnny back." 'I can't bring my dad back,' he added silently.  
  
//I won't live a lie anymore//  
  
//I need to give you up//  
  
"No, but maybe you can bring yerself back," Jessie said softly.  
  
Dally looked Jessie in the eyes. "I don't know."  
  
//And "oh oh baby" did you think that I was strong?//  
  
Jessie stared at him. "Of course you can."  
  
//Well "oh oh honey" can't ya see that you were wrong?//  
  
Dally shook his head mutely and went back to staring out the window and watching the rain.  
  
Jessie sighed. "Dally, look at me."  
  
Having nothing better to do and being slightly curious about how naïve Jessie could be, he faced her.  
  
Jessie leaned forward until their faces were only a couple on inches apart. Looking into his eyes, she said softly, "Dally, ya can do anything ya want. Yer strong. Stronger than any of us, even me."  
  
"Hard, not strong. There's a difference," Dally corrected quietly.  
  
"Both," Jessie insisted, her gaze still not leaving his eyes.  
  
'If I'm so strong, then why am I about to kiss ya?' Dally thought silently as he leaned into Jessie. He felt her doing the same and closed his eyes. Their lips soon met.  
  
//"Oh oh baby" did you think that I was strong//  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, there it is. And for all those people who wanted me to hurry up with Dally and Jessie getting together, here it is. But this isn't the end, don't worry. And I hope ya like the song. ^^ By the way, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	4. Sunsets

Disclaimer: The only things I own are Jessie and the plot, to some extent.  
  
A/N: This is the last chapter. Huzzah! So, don't bug me to write more about this because this is THE LAST CHAPTER!!! *rejoices*  
  
And by the way, the letter that Johnny wrote to Pony and I put in here is a direct quote. It ain't mine. It belongs to S. E. Hinton all the way. And certain quotes that I've taken directly from the book. Stuff that Johnny says. You'll see.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A soft knock on the door jolted Jessie and Dally out of there world and they quickly pulled apart.  
  
"Who is it?" Dally called.  
  
"Pony. Can I come in?" Pony asked.  
  
"Yeah," Dally replied. He glanced over at Jessie and noted that she wasn't blushing at all, unlike himself; he was positive that he was bright red.  
  
Pony opened the door and then closed it behind him. Upon seeing Jessie, he said, "Jessie, I think you should leave."  
  
"Lemme know when yer done," Jessie said and left, closing the door behind her.  
  
"What is it, Pony?" Dally asked impatiently.  
  
"Well, when Johnny was dieing, Two-Bit bought him a copy of Gone With the Wind so I could finish reading it to him. We were reading it in the church to pass time. After Johnny died, I got the book back. Inside it was a letter. There's a bunch of stuff to you in it," Pony said quickly and handed the letter to Dally and quickly left the room, almost slamming the door behind him.  
  
Dally stared at the piece of paper in his hands. Part of him, a large part of him, didn't want to open it. However, a stronger, if smaller, part of him wanted to read it very much. Eyes blurred with unshed tears, he opened the letter and started reading.  
  
"Ponyboy, I asked the nurse to give you this book so you could finish it. The doctor came in a while ago but I knew anyway. I keep getting tireder and tireder. Listen, I don't mind dying now. It's worth it. It's worth saving those kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Some of their parents came by to thank me and I know it was worth it. Tell Dally it's worth it. I'm just going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy who wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. When you're a kid, everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep it that way, it's a good way to be. I want you to tell Dally to look at one. He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want There's still lots of good in the world. Tell dally. I don't think he knows. You're buddy, Johnny."  
  
When Dally finished reading the letter, he stared at it and then through it across the room as hard as he could. He could feel everything that he had told himself since he had woken up after being shot disappearing, even Jessie. Especially Jessie. All he could think about is that the only person who he had ever loved was dead. Dally threw the blankets off of himself and got out of bed. He walked as quickly as he could without making a lot of noise to the door and opened it quietly. Nobody was there. He walked silently down the hall and out the back door. He was free again.  
  
Dally started running as fast as he could. Not anywhere in particular, just running. His legs took him to the cemetery and then over to Johnny's grave. Dally screamed and enjoyed the pain that flared through his chest from his bullet wounds. He thought about trying to get himself killed again, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. All of the sudden he felt tired, so tired. He sat down, his back against Johnny's grave and stared at the ground, watching the blackness that was coming from the corners of his eyes and quickly clouding his vision entirely. He slumped down, unconscious.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Dally . . . Dally, wake up."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Leave her alone, Dally."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Is he dead?"  
  
"No, not quite."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"We're goin' back to turn ourselves in."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"I swear, if he tries something like this again, I'm going to kill him!"  
  
"Jessie, calm down."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Useless . . . fighting's no good . . ."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Dally was in a pool of black light. He tried to break through the surface, and he got pretty close a couple of times, but he kept on falling back down again, driven by pain. Each time he came up, he heard fragments of conversations, but he didn't know if they were real or not; a couple of times he swore he had heard Johnny's voice. But he knew that Johnny was dead; he was even halfway towards accepting it. Not wanting to give in after he was finally beginning to get that Johnny was dead, he wasn't coming back and it wasn't the end of the world, Dally took one last effort to break through the black and finally made it through.  
  
"Dally!" Jessie gasped quietly when she saw that he was awake. "Yer awake."  
  
Dally smiled weakly. "For now."  
  
Jessie's brow contorted in worry. "What happened?"  
  
Dally closed his eyes and took a shaky breath.  
  
"Dally?" Jessie asked softly.  
  
"Pony-" Dally started, but choked on yet more unshed tears and couldn't continue.  
  
"Nevermind. You can tell me later," Jessie said quickly, not wanting dally to hurt himself more.  
  
Dally shook his head, indicating that he wanted to go on. "He brought a letter from Johnny-" his voice broke again.  
  
Jessie reached out and gently stroked Dally's forehead. She didn't say anything because she didn't want to make him stop talking.  
  
"It said that there was some good in this world. Johnny wanted me to know that," Dally said quietly.  
  
Jessie smiled. "It's a good thing to know."  
  
"There isn't."  
  
"Yes there is, Dally."  
  
"Like what?" Dally said sharply.  
  
"Us," Jessie replied quietly.  
  
Dally stared at her. "One thing isn't worth living for."  
  
Jessie sighed. She could feel tears building up behind her eyes but refused to let them fall. She knew that Dally needed her now. "Can I see the letter?"  
  
"I don't know where it is. I threw it," Dally said shortly.  
  
Jessie got up and quickly found it. She skimmed it and felt the tears come closer to falling. Johnny wasn't her best friend, but they were close. "Sunsets," she whispered, more to herself than Dally.  
  
"What?" Dally snapped.  
  
Jessie's face lit up. "How're ya feeling?"  
  
Dally stared quizzically at her. "Horrible. How else?"  
  
Jessie sighed impatiently. "Well hurry up and get better. By about six tomorrow."  
  
Dally rolled his eyes. "Why?"  
  
Jessie brightened again. "I have to show you something. Rest. I'll be back tomorrow," Jessie said and walked out of the room where Dally was and back to her own.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Dally glanced at the clock again. It was five thirty. Jessie wouldn't be coming for another half hour. Apparently she had forbidden anyone to come and see him except for bringing him food and medicine since nobody had come by, whereas before he had had a steady stream of visitors. Many times Dally had wanted to get out of bed, but he knew that if Jessie found out she wouldn't take him to wherever they were going. A soft knock on his door jolted Dally out of his thoughts.  
  
"Yeah?" he called.  
  
Jessie came in and went over to him. "How're ya feeling?" she asked.  
  
"Fine," Dally replied. He was, in fact, feeling better than he had thought, but not fine. He wanted to see what Jessie had to show him more though. Plus, he thought, I'll be ok for a little bit.  
  
Jessie smiled. "Good. Now get up," she said and reached out her hand. Dally took it, even though he didn't really need to, and squeezed it gently before he let go.  
  
"Where're we goin'?" Dally asked, following Jessie out of the room, then the house, and then into her car. Well, her parents car.  
  
Jessie's smile widened. "You'll see. Now buckle up," she commanded and started driving. After a couple of minutes, when they were on top a hill, she stopped the car. "Get out," she said softly.  
  
Dally did so; like he needed to be told.  
  
"Follow me," Jessie said and started walking over to the edge of the hill. Dally followed and smiled when he saw what he had shown her.  
  
"The sunset," he whispered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There it is! I'm done! No more! And don't ask for more! You're not going to get it! 


End file.
